DIVINE PERFECTION AND HUMAN POTENTIALITY: TRINITARIAN ANTHROPOLOGY IN HILARY OF POITIERS' DE TRINITATE

Transcription

1 University of Oxford The Queen's College Faculty of Theology and Religion DIVINE PERFECTION AND HUMAN POTENTIALITY: TRINITARIAN ANTHROPOLOGY IN HILARY OF POITIERS' DE TRINITATE A thesis submitted for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Trinity 2015 By Jarred Austin Mercer

2 TABLE OF CONTENTS Abstracts Acknowledgements Abbreviations iv xii xiv Introduction 1 Chapter 1: Divine generation and Human Potentiality 12 Introduction 12 John and divine generation 16 The Word in the beginning: John in Origen 18 Cosmology and soteriology in Origen 25 The reasonable Word: John in Tertullian 29 Novatian: God, creation, and the two 'logoi' 33 Athanasius against the 'Arians': reconceiving divine perfection 36 Hilary: John and the birth without beginning 39 The life in the Word and the light of humanity: John The potential creation 'in Him' 52 Chapter 2: Divine Infinity and Human Progress 58 Introduction 58 'Traditional' arguments of Father-Son relations for eternal generation 59 Name and nature in Hilary 63 Divine birth and Father-Son analogy 65 Reforming the analogy: the epistemological reorientation 74 of the doctrine of God Divine infinity in early Christianity 77 Introduction to Hilary's conception of divine infinity 81 The state of the scholarship: what is not being said 84 Apophatic analogy and divine linguistics 86 Proverbs 8.22: the crux interpretum 90 Proverbs 8.22 in the fourth century 92 Hilary's interpretation: 'potential creation' and Proverbs 8 97 i

3 ii Divine infinity and human progress 104 Conclusion 108 Chapter 3: Divine Unity and the 'Ladder of Our Nature' 110 Introduction 110 The centrality of John in third-century anti-monarchian polemic 115 John in fourth-century controversy: Hilary's interpretive 119 background Hilary's polemical arguments for divine unity 122 Origin and nature 123 Natural unity and agreement of will 128 The Holy Spirit: Spirit of God and Spirit of Christ 131 Divine unity and mutual indwelling 133 Divine unity and inseparable operations 137 Epistemological foundations: arguments by analogy 139 and analogical language Tertullian: approaching the unapproachable God 140 Novatian: the visible image of the invisible God 145 Hilary: the living Image and the triune God 150 Conclusion: divine unity and human ascension 162 Chapter 4: The Divine Image and Human Destiny 165 Introduction 165 'Image' language in philosophical and Christian tradition 166 The living Image of the Living: Hilary's transformation 182 of image language Image and equality 185 Image and revelation 187 Image and mediation 188 The imago Dei in early Christianity 189 The imago Dei in Hilary: humanity in trinitarian perspective 193 Trinity and human mediation: Christ's humanity as the lived imago Dei 196 Approaching Hilary's christology 197 Forma Dei-forma servi: divine-human coexistence 200 Body-soul relations: contextualising Hilary's discussion 204 The body and soul in Hilary 207 The body and soul of Christ: contours of the discussion 212 The body and soul of Christ in Hilary 215 Approaching Hilary's discussion on Christ's suffering 221 The influence of Stoicism on Hilary's argument 226 Introduction to Stoic moral psychology 228 Hilary's psychological framework 230 Christ's unique body 233 Other-focussed suffering 238 Diving impassibility 242

4 iii Human potentiality as hopeful mutability 244 Conclusion 251 Chapter 5: Divine Humanity: the glorification of Christ 254 and the perfection of human potentiality Introduction 254 The double adsumptio: transforming the language of incarnation 255 Corpus universi humani generis: Christ as the meeting place 258 of God and humanity Exchange of glory: John Double adsumptio and human progress 271 His glorious body: completed in eo (Phil 3.21) 274 Deus totus: subjection and the finis of humanity (1 Cor ) 277 The consummation of the image: from in eo to in ipsis 286 Knowledge of the Trinity and human perfection 289 From adsumptio to adsumptio: a certain hopeful direction 292 Conclusion 294 Conclusion: a hope greater than expected 295 Bibliography 301

5 iv ABSTRACT No figure of fourth-century Christianity seems to be at once so well known and so clouded in mystery as Hilary of Poitiers. His work as an historian provides invaluable knowledge of the mid-fourth century, and he was praised as a theologian throughout late antiquity. Today, however, discussions of his theology are founded upon less solid ground. This is largely due to methodological issues. Modern scholarship has often read Hilary through anachronistic historical and theological categories which have rendered his thought incomprehensible. Recent scholars have sought to overcome this and to reexamine Hilary within his own historical, polemical, and theological context. Much remains to be said, however, in regard to Hilary's actual theological contribution within these contextual parameters. This thesis contends that in all of Hilary's polemical and constructive argumentation in De Trinitate, which is essentially trinitarian, he is inherently and necessarily developing an anthropology. In all he says about the divine, he is saying as much about what it means to be human. This thesis therefore seeks to reenvision Hilary's overall theological project in terms of the continual, and for him necessary, anthropological corollary of trinitarian theology to reframe it in terms of a 'trinitarian anthropology'. My contention is that the coherence of Hilary's thought depends upon his understanding of divine-human relations. I will demonstrate this through following Hilary's main lines of trinitarian argument, out of which flows his anthropological vision. These main lines of argument, namely, divine generation, divine infinity, divine unity, the divine

6 v image, and divine humanity, each unfold into a progressive picture of humanity from potentiality to perfection. This not only provides a new paradigm for understanding Hilary's own thought, but invites us to reexamine our approach to fourth-century theology entirely, as it disavows any reading of the trinitarian controversies in conceptual abstraction. Further, theological and religious anthropology are widely discussed in contemporary scholarship, and Hilary's profound exploration of divine-human relations, and what it means to be a human being as a result, has much to offer both historical and contemporary concerns.

7 vi LONGER ABSTRACT No figure of fourth-century Christianity seems to be at once so well known and so clouded in mystery as Hilary of Poitiers. His work as an historian provides a breadth of knowledge of the mid-fourth century which would perhaps otherwise be lost, and his work as a theologian was praised by the likes of Augustine, Jerome, and numerous others throughout late-antiquity. Today, however, discussions of his theology are founded upon less solid ground. This is partly due to methodological issues. Throughout nineteenth- and twentieth-century scholarship, Hilary's thought was largely read within the framework of an 'history of dogma' approach. In this approach, he was read in light of developing 'orthodox' doctrine, and thus necessarily in comparison with later thinkers, and indeed, the standards of modern readers. This necessitates a reading which is divorced from Hilary's genuine historical context, as if his thought could be understood within an atemporal ideological vacuum, and this further led to strict demarcations of his thought into categories of modern theology: 'Trinity', 'Christology', 'Soteriology', etc., which render his thought incomprehensible. In the second half of the twentieth-century a few groundbreaking works on Hilary opened up new pathways for approaching his theology, examining his work not from an overarching, transcendent doctrinal panorama, but from within his immediate historical and intellectual context. Jean Doignon's 1971 work demonstrated Hilary's Latin intellectual heritage, and Hans Brennecke (1984) brought new perspective to his political and historical situation. Following on from the methodological groundwork of Doignon and Brennecke, multiple studies

8 vii have sought to further uncover Hilary's polemical situation and influences (Burns (1985), D. H. Williams (1992, 2001, 2006), Weedman (2007), Beckwith (2007, 2008), among others). This has made it possible to reassess Hilary's own thought from within these new parameters, moving beyond previous generations of scholarship. The work of Weedman (2007) and Burns (2012) in particular have begun to reshape Hilary's theology through inductive examination of his texts and context, rather than through the imposition of external categories. These scholarly achievements have made the type of study presented in this thesis possible. As Hilary's Latin heritage, historical circumstances, and polemical opponents have been examined, it remains to expose what it is that Hilary accomplished within these parameters. This thesis contends that in all of Hilary's polemical and constructive argumentation in De Trinitate, which is essentially 'trinitarian', he is inherently and necessarily developing an anthropology. In all he is saying about the divine, he is saying as much about what it means to be human. In this thesis, I therefore seek to reenvision Hilary's overall theological project in terms of the continual, and for him necessary, anthropological corollary of trinitarian theology to reframe it in terms of a 'trinitarian anthropology'. My contention is that the coherence of Hilary's thought depends upon his understanding of divine-human relations. This paradigm reframes his thought in such a way as to expose both his overall perspective and particular aspects of it which remain in abeyance outside his trinitarian-anthropological framework. I will demonstrate this through following Hilary's main lines of trinitarian argument, out of which flows his anthropological vision. These main lines of argument, namely, divine generation, divine infinity, divine unity, the divine image, and divine humanity, each unfold

9 viii into a progressive picture of humanity from potentiality to perfection. In Chapter 1, I begin this reinterpreting of Hilary's overall theological vision by exploring how, for Hilary, divine generation is the initiation of this journey of the perfection of human potentiality. This chapter frames early Christian discussion of divine generation within the interpretation of John 1.1-4, which illuminates its importance in fourth-century debates and emphasizes Hilary's unique contribution. For Hilary, the nature of God as generative directly implicates humanity in his productivity. He argues that all things are potentially created in the eternal generation of the Son. Creation finds its ultimate origin (in potentiality) in the Son's generation from the Father, as 'life' has gone forth from the Father and the life is 'that which was made in him' (Jn 1.3-4). Chapter 2 discusses Hilary's ingenious development of the doctrine of divine infinity, which is at the centre of his theology. The full significance of divine infinity in Hilary cannot be realized without an exploration of its exegetical foundation of John 1.1-4, the subject of Chapter 1. This is shown through, first, observing his development of divine infinity, which transforms his argumentation of Father-Son relations. This assists Hilary in constructing a working definition of divine infinity for his polemical context. His understanding of divine infinity, and its exegetical foundation, afford him a new interpretation of the critical and controversial text of Proverbs 8.22, which has immense implications for his trinitarian anthropology. These implications are then elucidated through Hilary's understanding of a progressus in infinitum of the mind towards the infinite God. Hilary's doctrine of divine infinity reorientates how humanity is seen to know and relate to the divine. Chapter 3 moves Hilary's trinitarian anthropology forward by examining his

10 ix arguments for divine unity, which are essentially an exegetical expansion of John 10.30, read intertextually with John (as it was in third century polemic, and by Hilary s opponents). Ultimately, Hilary s argumentation for divine unity stems from the conversation I have followed to this point, eternal generation and divine infinity. The epistemological and anthropological insights from the previous two chapters are brought to bear on his opponents in his discussion of divine unity. This chapter provides the most direct exploration of 'trinitarian' theology per se, and because of this it directly confronts the anachronistic category errors in Hilary scholarship noted above. Reading Hilary within his own set boundaries for discourse on the divine rather than presumed categories imposed upon his texts reveals theological and anthropological implications which otherwise remain unearthed. In all Hilary's arguments for divine unity, the emphasis is on the humane condescension of God in Christ's humanity. The Father and Son are revealed as a unity from within humanity itself. The infinite distinction of Creator and creatures, and the finite epistemological restrictions of humanity as a result, require this sort of condescension. But, for Hilary, this condescension educates and nourishes humanity, moving it beyond its limitations to the vision of God. The humane condescension of God in Scripture and incarnation serves an anagogical function to lead humanity to its fullness in divine perfection. In Chapter 4 I discuss 'divine image' language. This language, a common thread throughout the thesis, is here set within the broader context of early Christian notions of the divine image in order to exemplify Hilary's contribution. Hilary transforms the ambiguous and pliable theological notion of 'image' in his polemical context so as to appropriate for it an explicitly pro-nicene meaning. The

11 x anthropological implications for 'image' terminology permeate early Christian thought, primarily through discussions of the nature of the imago Dei of Genesis 1. Hilary greatly expands upon this. Here it becomes clear how Hilary's trinitarian anthropology takes on a particular christological form. For Hilary, Christ is the place where the trinitarian life is lived out in the human condition, he is the locative expression of normative divine-human relations. This is articulated by Hilary in the context of Christ's suffering and human experience, a highly contested aspect of Hilary's thought. The misreadings of Hilary's discussion of Christ's humanity paint a vivid picture of how particular aspects of his thought are incomprehensible outside of his overall framework of trinitarian anthropology. Within this discussion of the image, Hilary addresses the relationship of the body and soul, and this chapter will address how this relates to his overall theological project. These aspects of Hilary's thought concepts of the divine-human image, the body and soul, and the suffering of Christ carry the prime polemical weight of Hilary's trinitarian anthropology, and perhaps also reveal his most creative theological constructs. As Hilary's trinitarian anthropology is expressly lived out in a humane manner, the 'image of the invisible God' not only reveals divinity to humanity, but humanity to itself. Chapter 5 discusses how Hilary sees this anthropological reality, the perfection of human potentiality, coming to fruition. Hilary's reading of John 17:1-6, 1 Corinthians , and Philippians 3.21, intertextually and within his christological framework founded upon Philippians , brings his overall perspective of divine-human relations to a climactic and holistic cogency. These biblical passages were at the centre of controversy, and Hilary's polemical reading of them imaginatively constructs an eschatological vision for humanity which is

12 xi the culmination of his trinitarian anthropology. Here, the human destiny, the perfection of potentiality through Christ's humanity, is brought to completion. Hilary's use of adsumere, a word typically reserved for the ascension, for Christ's assumption of humanity in the incarnation directly links incarnation with resurrection-ascension-glorification as a single fluid movement. There is thus a movement from adsumptio to adsumptio in Christ's assumption of humanity and the Father's assumption of Christ (and humanity in him). This is possible because Hilary speaks of the assumption of all humanity in Christ's assumption of a particular human. In Christ, the Son assumes corpus universi humani generis (Trin. 2.24), so that the human condition is implicated in the destiny of Christ himself. The perfection of human potentiality is a concorporeal conforming to Christ. He is thus, for Hilary, both the origin and destiny of humanity's hopeful mutability. This thesis is not an explication of Hilary's 'trinitarian theology' or 'anthropology' in themselves, but is rather a reinterpretation of his overall theological vision under the overarching paradigm of 'trinitarian anthropology'. This not only provides a new approach to Hilary's own thought, but invites us to examine our approach to fourth-century theology entirely. Hilary's view of humanity being implicated in all trinitarian discourse disavows any reading of the trinitarian controversies in conceptual abstraction. This project also will be of interest to contemporary theology and religious studies. Theological and religious anthropology are widely discussed in contemporary scholarship, and Hilary's profound exploration of divine-human relations, and what it means to be a human being as a result, has much to offer to both historical and contemporary concerns.

13 xii ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I began this thesis feeling a bit like a lone soldier, helplessly clinging to my own devices whilst on the receiving end of an all-out onslaught. I could have never imagined how many people would end up being my companions in this project by the time of its completion. I would first like to thank my supervisor, Mark Edwards, whose continual support and encouragement (along with his seemingly bottomless well of knowledge) have been critically important to the formation of this thesis. I also owe special thanks to Michel-Yves Perrin, whose warm welcome and supervision during my time at École Pratique des Hautes Études not only made me feel more at home in Paris but greatly enhanced this thesis. Indeed, his example of research and teaching will surely enhance any future work I undertake to the same degree. I would also like to thank many others who were involved in various ways in the project throughout these past few years, from conversations to the reading of chapters to examining: Bernard Green, Johannes Zachhuber, Lewis Ayres, Tarmo Toom, Mark Weedman, Stan Rosenberg, Julia Konstantinovsky, Patrick Descourtieux, Mark Elliott, Ivor Davidson, and all those involved in the patristics seminar at the University of Oxford. There have been many organisations who have financially supported my doctoral work through scholarships and grants, to whom I will forever be grateful: University of Oxford Faculty of Theology and Religion, the North American Patristics Society, Squire and Marriott Bursaries, Scatcherd European Scholarship, Ellerton Essay Prize, and the Institute for Humane Studies. The Faculty of Theology and Religion, Oxford, The Queen's College, Oxford, and the British Patristics Society also provided funding to travel to various conferences at which research for this thesis was presented. Many people have given what might be called 'keeping me from going insane' support throughout these past few years of thesis writing. These include, though are not limited to, Jonathan Beswick, who has been a continual reminder of things that matter most saving me from the inward, narcissistic, naval-gazing that academic work can foster; Matt and Jessi Nickerson, whose friendship is invaluable; and Christopher M. Hays, for lending an open ear and sage advice during the moments when I felt completely inept and like I had no clue what I was doing! Throughout the writing process, Duruflé, Josquin, Chopin, Wagner, Bach, Jónsi, Iron and Wine, Damien Rice, Sleeping at Last, Gregory Alan Isakov, Sufjan Stevens, and many others have formed an impressive soundtrack with which to approach fourth-century theological controversy. My family has provided immeasurable support. My parents, Dwayne and Pam Mercer, are worthy of a level of gratitude that is impossible to return. Their steadfast affirmation and unconditional encouragement have in many ways made this thesis possible. To my parents-in-law, Paul and Jean Finnegan, I am forever grateful, not only for the gift of their beautiful daughter to me and to the world, but for their continual support for me personally. John Robie has been a

14 perpetual source of encouragement, and has always intentionally reminded me that what I do matters, and for that I am truly grateful. My wife and children deserve endless thanksgiving for each day I have with them, and in particular for their endurance through the often trying times of writing a doctoral thesis with a family. Noah, your compassion and selfforgetfulness awaken me to the boundless generosity of life, and your sense of adventure reminds me that everything on offer within it is worthwhile. Owen, your continual awareness of the wonder of where you are, and perhaps before whose presence you are, returns me to the sacred beauty of the world and the place our lives can hold within it. Elspeth, all fear, weariness, and hopelessness are defenseless to your light which breaks through any darkness attempting to overshadow it. Each glance at you reminds me that life, at its essence, is pure joy and thankfulness. The three of you are for me a vision of humanity's hopeful mutability. If we could all see the world through your eyes we would surely be closer to the 'perfection of our potentiality' (if you ever read this thesis you will know what I mean!). Above all my gratitude is for my wife Chelsea, to whom this thesis, along with my whole life and each moment within it, is dedicated. It is not enough to thank you for your patience and endurance through what must have seemed at times like my second marriage to a man called Hilary, for there would still be an endless remainder of thanksgiving for you. You're my best friend through all of it, so just thanks. xiii

15 xiv ABBREVIATIONS ANRW Aug CSEL CCSG CCSL CH DBS FC GCS Greg IJSCC JECS JEH JThS NPNF PG PL REPT RSR SC SP SVF ThSt TSK TU URK VC Aufstieg und Niedergang der römischen Welt Augustinianum Corpus Scriptorum Ecclesiasticorum Latinorum Corpus Christianorum Series Graeca Corpus Christianorum Series Latina Church History Dictionnaire de la Bible: Supplément Fathers of the Church Series Die griechischen christlichen Schrifsteller Gregorianum International Journal for the Study of the Christian Church Journal of Early Christian Studies Journal of Ecclesiastical History Journal of Theological Studies Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers Patrologia Graeca Patrologia Latina Realenzyklopädie für protestantische Theologie und Kirche Revue des sciences religieuses Sources Chrétiennes Studia Patristica Stoicorum Veterum Fragmenta Theological Studies Theologische Studien und Kritiken Texte und Untersuchungen zur Geschichte der altchristlichen Literatur H.-G. Opitz, ed. Urkunden zur Geschichte des Arianischen Streites Vigiliae Christianae All abbreviations for primary sources are indicated in the bibliography and generally follow Dictionnaire latin-français des auteurs chrétiens, ed. Albert Blaise. Strasbourg, 1954 (Latin), and A Patristic Greek Lexicon, ed. G. W. H Lampe. Oxford, 1961 (Greek).

16 INTRODUCTION When we turn to fourth-century Christianity, no figure seems to be at once so well known and so clouded in mystery as Hilary of Poitiers. His work as an historian provides a breadth of knowledge of the mid-fourth century which would perhaps otherwise be lost, and no one can deny the force of his polemical prowess against Homoian theology. He was the one hailed by Sulpicius as the sole conqueror of 'heresy' in Gaul. 1 Those who lived soon after Hilary found his work theologically invaluable. For Augustine he is the keenest defender of the faith, 2 for Jerome a trustworthy teacher, 3 Cassian says his piety of faith did not waver, 4 and his name is hailed as one of the greatest of saints at Chalcedon. 5 In modern scholarship, however, the landscape in which Hilary's theology is explored is in muddy waters. This is primarily due to methodological issues. Throughout the nineteenth- and twentieth-centuries, Hilary scholarship assessed his theology 1 Chron Augustine, c. Iul , PL 44:645; cf. Rufinus, Hist. eccl Jerome, Ep Cassian, De inc. c. Nes Here Cassian calls Hilary 'Confessor'. 5 See discussion in B. de Gaiffier, 'Comment Hilaire fut proclamé Docteur de l'église' in Hilaire de Poitiers: évêque et docteur ( ), ed. Edmond-René Labande (Paris: Études augustinniennes, 1968), 27-37, for praise of Hilary from these late-ancient references through to modernity.

17 2 from an 'history of dogma' approach. 6 Understanding Hilary's thought within the flow of development of certain doctrines necessitates the imposition of preconceived categories onto Hilary's text from the outside. The reader is not only adjudicating Hilary's thought from the standpoint of later thinkers, but also from her own. So modern understandings of 'Trinity, 'Christology', 'Soteriology', 'Anthropology', etc., both dictate the study of Hilary and judge the conclusions (as have outdated narratives of fourth-century Christianity). The use of such categories also strictly demarcates Hilary's thought in a way which makes it unintelligible. In Hilary these concepts are so intertwined that they interpret one another, and to demarcate them is to make each incomprehensible. 6 J. A. Dorner, Entwicklungsgeschichte der Lehre von der Person Christi, vol. 1 (Berlin:1851); J. H. Reinkens, Hilarius von Poitiers (Schaffhausen, 1864); J. P. Baltzer, Die Theologie des h. Hilarius von Poitiers (Rottweil, 1879); P. Coustant, Vita Sancti Hilarii (PL ) (Paris, 1844); E. W. Watson, 'Introdution', in NPNF 2.9; Anton Beck, Die Trinitätslehre des Heiligen Hilarius von Poitiers (Mainz: F. Kirchheim, 1903). Throughout these studies, Hilary's trinitarian theology was seen largely in the context of imposed theological categories, such as 'generic' and 'numeric' models of trinitarian relations, as a way of interpreting Hilary's role in doctrinal controversy and in developing Nicene 'orthodoxy'. Particularly regarding an Homoiousian influence of it (Adolf von Harnack, History of Dogma 4, trans. E. B. Speirs and James Millar (London:Williams & Norgate, 1898), 72-80; F. Loofs, 'Hilarius von Poitiers' REPT III (Leipzig, 1900): 57-67; J. Gummerus, Die Homöusianische Partei bis zum Tode des Konstantius (Leipzig, 1900), 112); L. Coulanges (J. Turmel), 'Métamorphose du consubstantiel Athanase et Hilaire', Revue d'histoire et Littérature Religieuses 8 (1922), 191f; see C. F. A. Borchardt, Hilary of Poitiers' Role in the Arian Struggle (The Hague: Martinus Nijhoff, 1966), 162-5). Pierre Smulders, La doctrine trinitaire de S. Hilaire de Poitiers: Esquisse du mouvement dogmatique depuis le Concile de Nicée jusqu'au règne de Julien ( ) (Rome: Gregoriana, 1944), , sought to refute these arguments, claiming a 'numeric' unity in Hilary (G. Rasneur, 'L'Homoiusianisme dans ses rapports avec l'orthodoxie', Revue d'histoire Ecclésiastique 4 (1903):411-24, argued similarly), and concludes that Hilary was not influenced by Homoiousian thought during his exile. His remarkably detailed look at Hilary's trinitarian doctrine suffers from the same category distinctions that plagued those he was writing against. While he sought to overturn their arguments, he accepted their framework of argumentation, remaining within their constructed paradigm while seeking to overcome the intellectual conclusions of it. For summaries of scholarship, see Joseph Moingt, 'La théologie trinitaire de S. Hilaire' in Hilaire et son temps: Actes du colloque de Poitiers, 29 septembre-3 octobre 1968, à l'occasion du XVI e centenaire de la mort de saint Hilaire (Paris: Études augustiniennes, 1969), ; Mark Weedman, The Trinitarian Theology of Hilary of Poitiers (Leiden: Brill, 2007),

18 3 Recent studies have recognized this. In particular, the very recent works by Mark Weedman, 7 Ellen Scully, 8 and Paul Burns 9 make a point of overcoming such demarcations. This is in large part, as Weedman notes, 10 thanks to a few groundbreaking studies of the last century. Whereas earlier scholars were committed to a diachronic assessment, treating Christian doctrines as ahistorical, transcendent categories, which stand as judge over historically conditioned circumstances, Brennecke sought to place Hilary within his own historically conditioned context, particularly his political one, 11 and Doignon within his Latin intellectual tradition. 12 Both of these works, in different ways, allowed Hilary to be read within his own context and began to bring out his immediate concerns and perspectives. He could no longer be read within an overarching narrative construction of the Christian doctrine of the Trinity or of christology, but was being addressed as an individual thinker within the framework of a particular, temporal, specific reality. Paul Burns's study on Hilary's Mat. built upon Doignon's work to show that, despite the affirmation of the previous generation, Hilary's theology was not set from the beginning, but developed and changed due to his exile and interaction with eastern theology and his Homoian opponents Weedman, Trinitarian. 8 Ellen Scully, 'The Assumption of all Humanity in Saint Hilary of Poitiers' Tractatus super Psalmos (PhD diss., Marquette University, 2011). See also her 'The Soteriology of Hilary of Poitiers: A Latin Mystical Model of Redemption', Aug 52 (2012): Paul Burns, A Model for the Christian Life: Hilary of Poitiers' Commentary on the Psalms (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2012). 10 Trinitarian, Hans Christoph Brennecke, Hilarius von Poitiers und die Bischofsopposition gegen Konstantius II: Untersungen zur dritten Phase des Arianischen Streites ( ) (Berlin: De Gruyter, 1984). 12 Jean Doignon, Hilaire de Poitiers avant l'exil (Paris: Études Augustinienne, 1971). 13 Paul Burns, The Christology in Hilary of Poitiers' Commentary on Matthew (Rome: Institutum Patristicum Augustinianum, 1981).

19 4 Weedman's work was thus freed to explore Hilary's trinitarian theology in his polemical context and, especially, in his interaction with Homoiousian theology, and in the process, to reconstruct Hilary's trinitarian theology in a way which refuses modern demarcated categories and challenge previous understandings of Hilary's doctrine. Weedman's study thus remains within the confines of trinitarian doctrine strictly understood, but he, as much as possible, allows Hilary's own trinitarian categories to surface from within, rather than imposing preconceived notions of what trinitarian theology must be on the text. Scully seeks to assess Hilary's overall thought from outside the confines of trinitarian doctrine per se, and to overcome anachronistic categorization of Hilary's thought by reading that thought through a single idea, that of Christ's universal assumption of all humanity in the incarnation. Burns's latest work argues that Hilary's Psal. is written as a model for the progress of Christian life towards God. He shows Hilary's theology in Psal. as a holistic vision, which both refuses demarcated categories, and is a process of human movement towards the divine. As a result of the achievements of later twentieth- and twenty-first century Hilary scholarship, doors have been opened for studies to explore the overall shape of Hilary's thought. As his Latin heritage, historical circumstances, and polemical opponents have been examined, it remains to assess what it is that Hilary accomplished within these parameters. Weedman's work, as stated above, remains within the domain of trinitarian theology proper, and he utilizes this study to convincingly demonstrate the development of Hilary's thought throughout his career and the influence of Basil of Ancyra and the Homoiousians upon that development, but he notes that this provides the groundwork for further study into the implications for Hilary's thought and fourth-century

20 5 Christianity generally, and that 'the study of Hilary could make a positive contribution to the continuing reevaluation of the Trinitarian Controversy itself'. 14 Burns's study of Hilary's Psal. shows the roots of his holistic theological vision of human progress towards God are in Trin., 15 and this thesis will show that in Trin. this reality is directly dependent upon, indeed, flows out of, Hilary's trinitarian argumentation. This thesis contends that in Hilary's constructive and polemical arguments for trinitarian doctrine he is necessarily and inherently developing an anthropology. In his theological discourse, which is fundamentally about the divine, he is saying as much about what it is to be human. For Hilary, 'revelation of God to humanity, reveals humanity to itself'. 16 In this thesis, I therefore seek to reenvision Hilary's overall theological project in terms of the continual, and for him essential, anthropological corollary of trinitarian theology to reframe it in terms of a 'trinitarian anthropology'. If anachronistic category errors are not taken as viable reference points for discussing fourth-century theology, Hilary's thought begins to take on a very different shape. His theology is not primarily about how God is seen to be both one and three, or how the two natures of Christ relate to one another, or an exploration of trinitarian terminology (homoousios, homoiousios, persona, substantia, essentia, natura, etc.). There is a more fundamental element for Hilary of divine-human relations, which, indeed, makes knowledge and discourse of God possible. All of Hilary's argumentation is an exploration of what it is to be a human being existing in relation to the type of God he argues for. I will 14 Trinitarian, e.g., Model, 2, 224, see Chapter 5 of this thesis for discussion. 16 Patrick Descourtieux, 'Introduction', in Psal. 1-14, SC 515:63. All translations of ancient and modern non-english texts are my own unless otherwise noted.

21 6 demonstrate this through examining Hilary's main lines of argument, which are necessarily trinitarian, theological, and discovering the anthropological conclusions which, for Hilary, necessarily flow from these arguments. These main lines of argument, namely, divine generation, divine infinity, divine unity, the divine image, and divine humanity, each unfold into a progressive picture of humanity from origin to destiny, from potentiality to perfection. In Chapter 1, I begin this objective of reinterpreting of Hilary's theological vision by exploring how, for Hilary, divine generation is the initiation of this journey of the perfection of human potentiality. Recent reconstructions of fourthcentury theology have shown that divine generativity is at its centre, and Hilary exemplifies this. This chapter frames the discussion within the bounds of early Christian interpretation of John 1.1-4, Hilary's favoured text relating to divine generation. This discussion will illuminate the importance of divine generation in fourth-century Christianity, and also Hilary's unique contributions and significant anthropological implications therein. In his reading of the passage (in polemical engagements with Homoian theology) the nature of God as eternally generative is seen to directly implicate humanity in that productivity. Hilary argues that in the eternal generation of the Son all things are potentially created, so that the nature of humanity is directly dependent upon the eternal generation of the Son, as this is where it finds its origin. Chapter 2 discusses Hilary's ingenious doctrine of divine infinity. While the centrality of divine infinity in Hilary has been recognized in recent scholarship, its full significance for his overall thought has not been realized. It is my contention that it cannot be realized without an exploration of the exegetical foundation of the doctrine in Trin., namely, John This is shown first through framing

22 7 divine infinity in the context of Hilary's argumentation, and how the concept of infinity transforms his argument of Father-Son relations. Second, this transformation aids Hilary towards a working definition of infinity, an understanding of what it means for God to be infinite. Third, we will see how Hilary provides a new interpretation of the critical text of Proverbs 8.22 due to his John interpretive foundation. His reading of Proverbs 8 has immense implications for his trinitarian anthropology. Fourth, these implications are elucidated through his understanding of a progressus in infinitum of the mind towards the infinite God. Hilary's discussion of divine infinity has significant epistemological conclusions which reorientate how humanity is seen to know and relate to God. Chapter 3 considers divine unity. In this chapter Hilary's polemical opponents, which are discussed throughout the thesis, are brought into sharper focus, and Hilary is seen to bring his epistemological and anthropological insights from the previous two chapters to bear on his opponents. This chapter is also the most direct 'trinitarian' discussion, strictly understood, in the thesis. Because of this, it also comes into direct confrontation with the anachronistic category errors in Hilary scholarship discussed above. Hilary's reference points for trinitarian doctrine are not those of modern assumptions, and reading Hilary within his own set boundaries for discourse on the divine, rather than presumed categories imposed upon his text, will reveal theological and anthropological consequences which remain hidden in readings which adjudicate Hilary's argument by anachronistic intrusions. Hilary's understanding of divine unity is primarily seen in his intertextual reading of John and 14.9 in polemical engagement with mid-fourth century Homoian and monarchian theologies and expanding upon his

23 8 previous Latin tradition, and it both depends upon and elaborates upon his epistemological foundation stemming from divine infinity. In all of Hilary's arguments for divine unity, the emphasis is on the humane condescension of God in the humanity of Christ, so that the Father and the Son are revealed as one from within humanity itself. 17 Humanity's finite epistemological restrictions require this sort of material, bodily revelation, and by it, human weakness is nourished and educated to move beyond its limitations to the vision of the triune God. For Hilary, the humane condescension of God in the words of Scripture and the humanity of Jesus serves an anagogical function to lead humanity to its fullness in divine perfection. In Chapter 4 I discuss Hilary's use of 'divine image' language. This is a common thread throughout the thesis and here it is set in the broader context of early Christian notions of the divine image in order to bring about its significance for Hilary. Through polemical maneuvering, Hilary transforms the ambiguous theological language of image so that it takes on an explicitly pro-nicene articulation. Further, the anthropological significance of 'image' language, inherently present through the imago Dei language in Genesis 1, is greatly expanded by Hilary. Here we see how Hilary's trinitarian anthropology takes on a particular christological form. For Hilary, Christ is the locative expression of normative divine-human relations, he is the place where the trinitarian life becomes a lived reality in the human condition, and this is uniquely articulated by 17 Throughout this thesis, I am using humane in its most literal sense as 'of or pertaining to humanity', not in its common sense which pertains to having or showing compassion. This language best communicates how Hilary's framework of trinitarian anthropology relates particularly to issues of epistemology and revelation. For Hilary, humanity can only know God in a humane way, meaning, in a manner which corresponds to its finite limitations (humans know humanly). Correspondingly, Hilary emphasizes that God must reveal himself in a manner in which humans can grasp, in a manner which is of their human condition, so that divine condescension must be humane condescension (i.e., condescension which reveals God humanely, in a way pertaining to humanity).

24 9 Hilary within the context of Christ's suffering and human experience, the most contested aspect of his thought. Within this discussion, Hilary also addresses the relationship of the body and soul in humanity, and how this relates to his overall theological project. In these interrelated concepts of the divine-human image, the body and soul, and the suffering of God in Christ Hilary's trinitarian anthropology carries its prime polemical weight against his Homoian opponents, and is perhaps where it yields its most creative theological constructions. Here Hilary's trinitarian anthropology is both expressed and lived out in a humane manner, so that the 'image of the invisible God' not only reveals divinity to humanity, but humanity to itself. The discussion of Hilary's thought in Chapter 4 affords further critique of and renewed perspective on both Hilary scholarship and the study of fourth-century Christianity generally. Chapter 5 explores how Hilary sees the outworking of the perfection of human potentiality. Hilary's overall anthropological vision cannot be properly understood without an in depth reading of his intertextual interpretation of John , 1 Corinthians , and Philippians 3.21, all read within the boundaries of his overall christological framework governed by Philippians Hilary reads these passages, which were central to the controversy, to address his polemical context, but also to imaginatively construct an echatological vision for humanity which is the culmination of his trinitarian anthropology. Here, the human destiny in Christ parsed in the previous chapter comes to fruition. This has to do initially with the novelty of Hilary's discussion of the incarnation. He uses adsumere, language traditionally reserved for Christ's ascension, in reference to the incarnation, tying incarnation and resurrection-ascension-glorification together as one movement. There is thus a double assumption of humanity by Christ and of

25 10 Christ by the Father. Hilary's theology of adsumere/adsumptio profoundly explicates the anthropological implications of such a double assumption. Hilary speaks of Christ's assumption of humanity as an assumption of all humanity in the assumption of one particular human. In Christ, the Son assumes corpus universi humani generis. 18 Humanity is thus united to and in Christ 'by the society of our nature in the communion of the immortal God', 19 and is thus discovered to be associated with, indeed, to be implicated in, the destiny of Christ himself. The perfection of human potentiality is a concorporeal conforming to Christ. Humanity's progression in the assumed human life of Christ makes Christ himself the geographical boundary of human salvation: the fulfillment of human potentiality. He is both the origin and destiny of humanity's hopeful mutability. It is important to note what this study is not. It is not a study of Hilary's 'trinitarian theology' as such, indeed, as indicated above, this type of classification has led to misappropriations of Hilary's thought, and divisions in Hilary's thought which render it incomprehensible. I will also not include a general historical overview of Hilary's life or polemical situation in any one section of the thesis. Space does not allow this, and further, this has been done thoroughly elsewhere 20 and to do so here would be monotonous and distracting. Hilary's argument is dealt with in his polemical and historical context throughout this thesis, rather than an introduction to this background being given in any one place. It is also not a study of Hilary's 'anthropology' per se, and in the same way as superimposed trinitarian categories cannot adjudicate Hilary's argument, neither can presumed 18 Trin. 2.24, SC 443: Ibid., 9.13, SC 462: e.g. Smulders, Doctrine, 1-72, ; Borchardt, Hilary, 1-55, ; Carl Beckwith, Hilary of Poitiers On the Trinity: From De Fide to De Trinitate (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2008), 1-67.

26 11 anthropological ones. Traditional anthropological topics (such as the relationship of the body and soul) are addressed throughout Hilary's argument, but as they arise therein, not as an imposition upon that argument. The goal of this thesis is not, therefore, to simply reconstruct Hilary's trinitarian theology or anthropology, but to reinterpret his overall theological vision within the overarching paradigm of 'trinitarian anthropology'. My contention is that the coherence of his thought hangs on his understanding of divine-human relations. For Hilary, the type of God he argues for necessitates a certain type of human being, and the certain way in which finite humanity exists determines how it can know and speak of the infinite God. This paradigm reframes Hilary's thought in such a way as to expose both its overall perspective and particular aspects which remain hidden outside this trinitarian-anthropological impetus and foundation. Further, it forces us to reexamine our approach to fourth-century theology as a whole. The way humanity is implicated in all trinitarian discourse in Hilary disavows any such discourse in conceptual abstraction, and reframes it as a humane, embodied, lived reality.

27 CHAPTER ONE Divine Generation and Human Potentiality Introduction Eternal generation, the Son's divine natiuitas, has often been noted as the core of Hilary's thought, at least as pertains to his De Trinitate. 1 It is the hinge upon which his entire theological project turns. This chapter will provide a brief backdrop of the theological milieu which makes this project possible and then move to refocus the scope of Hilary's favoured lens of divine generation in such a way as to transform our understanding what it constitutes within his overall theological vision. This chapter thus begins a central objective of this thesis, a reframing of Hilary's theological vision, which can be summarized under the overarching narrative of a 'trinitarian anthropology', 2 and brings to light how, for Hilary, divine generation is the initiation of the perfection of human potentiality. In the various recent reconstructions of fourth-century doctrinal controversy, scholars have continually shown divine generation to be the foundation. Lewis 1 E.P. Meijering, Hilary of Poitiers On the Trinity: De Trinitate 1, 1-19, 2, 3 (Leiden: Brill, 1982), 105; Lewis Ayres, Nicaea and Its Legacy: An Approach to Fourth-Century Trinitarian Theology (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004), 184. Weedman, Trinitarian, 140, 201. I use 'generation' and 'birth' interchangeably throughout in reference to Hilary, who directly states at Trin that the natiuitas is none other than the generatio of the Son from the Father. 2 I use the word 'narrative' because Hilary's trinitarian anthropology unfolds as a narrative journey of the human being towards God, and essentially, we shall see, a narrative of Christ's humanity itself.

28 13 Ayres notes that the focus of the debate 'lies in competing accounts of the Son's generation', 3 and Michel Barnes concludes, 'the argument is over divine productivity'. 4 Vaggione agrees that the language of generation was at the centre of the controversy. 5 Behr rightly notes that the fourth and fifth centuries cannot be divided up in terms of fourth-century 'trinitarian' and fifth-century 'christological' debates, and contends that the controversy is over different 'approaches to conceptualizing the identity of Christ'. 6 One must have a certain sympathy with this approach, how Christ is divine (for all confessed his divinity in some way 7 ) is certainly a significant concern, but, it must be said, this discussion continually refers back to the Son's origination in and from the Father, and how one conceives of this taking place, 8 and I believe Ayres is right to note that rather than speaking of the fourth- and fifth-century controversies as not simply 'trinitarian' or 'christological', we would do better to avoid such categories entirely. 9 3 Ayres, Nicaea, 35; see Michel R. Barnes, 'The Fourth Century as Trinitarian Canon', in Christian Origins: Theology, Rhetoric and Community, eds. Lewis Ayres and Gareth Jones (London: Routledge, 1998), Michel R. Barnes, The Power of God: Dunamis in Gregory of Nyssa's Trinitarian Theology (Washington, D.C.: Catholic University of America Press, 2001), Richard Vaggione, Eunomius of Cyzicus and the Nicene Revolution (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000), John Behr, The Nicene Faith, Formation of Christian Theology, vol. 2, part 1 (New York: St Vladimir's Seminary Press, 2004), 33. A similar, though not identical, line is followed by R. P. C. Hanson, The Search for the Christian Doctrine of God: The Arian Controversy, (London:T&T Clark, 2005 [orig. pub. 1988]), xx, who states that the crisis was over reconciling monotheism with the worship of Jesus Christ as divine. 7 See Khaled Anatolios, Retrieving Nicaea: The Development and Meaning of Trinitarian Doctrine (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Academic, 2011), 36-38, for an excellent discussion on the commonalities of all sides in the controversies: all were essentially 'trinitarian' at least on their own terms, proclaimed faith in Father, Son and Holy Spirit, and all held to the divinity of Christ, whatever that divinity's relation was to the Father's. 8 As Vaggione, Eunomius, , makes clear, this is another commonality on all sides of the debate: everyone spoke of divine generation. The difficulty being the 'oddness' of the language it had to be explained, and different interpretive frameworks were involved in explaining it. 9 Ayres, Nicaea, 3.